Closed Mae Sot zinc mine to become forest
Padaeng Industry closed its zinc mine in Mae Sot last month because of the depletion of ore reserves.
Managing director Francis Vanbellen said yesterday that PDI’s mine concluded its 32 years of sustainable operations after producing its last 140,000 tonnes of zinc-silicate ore this year.
The company will now finalise the rehabilitation plan and convert the mine into an abundant forest, before returning it to the Forest Department next year.
To assure sustainable management of the site, it will be further developed under the royal-initiative project.
PDI will invest in the Padaeng Zinc Mine Museum and a pagoda, with completion expected next year.
PDI will sustain its supply of zinc metal to customers.
The zinc-silicate ore produced from the Mae Sot mine will be refined as usual in the Tak smelter. This year, PDI will produce and sell 70,000 tonnes of zinc metal.
The supply of zinc metal from its own mine to customers will continue next year. The company is studying sustaining supply by importing zinc metal in the future.
It is preparing an integrated industrial-waste-management project at its Tak location under a joint venture with Dowa Eco-System Co, a subsidiary of Dowa Holdings Co.
In close collaboration with the Industrial Works Department, PDI is exploring the feasibility of implementing a process to solve industrial-waste problems in the North and West.
The project would treat at least 50,000 tonnes per year. Operations are expected to go live by the end of 2018, with the Environment and Health Impact Assessment process being critical path to the timeline.
